Leo McKinstry

Leo McKinstry is a British journalist and author

Another vote? Be careful what you wish for, Remoaners, says LEO MCKINSTRY

The Government is now paying the price for the incoherence and cowardice of its Brexit strategy. Repeated concessions to the EU have led only to arrogance in Brussels, turmoil at Westminster, paralysis in Whitehall and disillusion among voters.

As ministers struggle with their self-inflicted troubles, pressure now grows for a second referendum on EU withdrawal. At the forefront of this campaign is a group named the People’s Vote, which plans to step up its agitation over the coming months.

Yet this so-called People’s Vote movement is based on a spectacular deceit. The organisation, which is essentially a Remainer front run by pro-EU outfit Open Britain, pretends it is seeking a democratic endorsement for any Brexit deal.

In reality it wants to overturn the result of the 2016 referendum and keep Britain locked inside the Brussels empire. Rarely has any gang of lobbyists had a more misleading title.

The People’s Vote is the antithesis of democracy. Its entire outlook is based on the betrayal of the voters. We have already had a People’s Vote on the EU and it was by far the greatest democratic exercise in our modern political history.

The debate was intense, the turnout high, the result decisive. Brexit is in difficulty not because of the public’s brave decision but because of the establishment’s reluctance to abide by the result.

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So over the past two years they have done all they can to emasculate Brexit with endless delays, meaningless talks, legalistic manoeuvres and empty sloganising.

It is this institutional inertia which has created the present mess and heightened public despair. With ruthless cynicism Remainers aim to foment the mood of crisis so they can present a second referendum as the only viable solution.

Every dire warning about Brexit, from political stalemate to shortages of medical supplies, is geared towards that end. What we have is a reprise of the notorious Project Fear with the aim of forcing a re-run on the vote.

That attitude is epitomised by the mega-rich, achingly progressive football pundit Gary Lineker, who has just come out in support of the People’s Vote.

Justifying his stance Lineker said: “I know when something is wrong and right now Brexit feels like it is going very wrong indeed.”

Other celebrities have joined in this denunciation of the EU withdrawal, such as businessman Sir Richard Branson, who claims that British voters were misled in 2016 and would “change their minds” in a second vote.

Against the backdrop of this high-profile coverage the People’s Vote campaigners are brimming with confidence.

They boast they now have 130 branches across the country as well as more than 250,000 signatures on their petition for a second vote and more than a million supporters online.

They also point to an opinion poll last week which showed that 42 per cent of the public favour a second referendum, compared with 40 per cent against one.

Chequers summit in pictures: Theresa May's big Brexit meeting

Fri, July 6, 2018

The Prime Minister gathered her cabinet together ahead of a crunch Brexit showdown at her country retreat at Chequers in Buckinghamshire

But the second-vote zealots should be careful about what they wish for. Another referendum could backfire dramatically. Far from forcing us to stay in the EU, a further vote could provide renewed impetus for our departure.

The only way there will be a second referendum is if the Government is forced by Parliament into one, either because Theresa May has been unable to conclude any kind of reasonable agreement with Brussels or because a deal has been rejected by the Commons.

In such circumstances the new referendum will be just like the 2016 version with a straight choice between clean Brexit and Remain.

The result could be a landslide for the former, once again puncturing all the arrogant self-delusions of the pro-EU brigade.

The Remainers think that in a second ballot the people will be like an army of despairing penitents, anxious to atone for the sin of their past heresy by voting the “right” way this time.

REFERENDUM: It was the greatest democratic exercise in modern political history (Image: GETTY)

But the very opposite could happen. A further referendum could be the vehicle for an explosion of public anger against the political establishment for failing to implement the decision of 2016.

Such a vote could trigger a nationwide revolt against the elite, which will have shattered all public trust by treating democracy with contempt.

Any new Remain campaign that involves despised pro-EU figures such as Nick Clegg and Tony Blair will guarantee an even bigger failure than in 2016.

Nor is there any evidence that the electorate has changed its mind on Brexit, especially after Project Fear proved so inaccurate and the EU so stubborn.